Apr

Clear, Compelling Marketing—the Key to Winning the Presidential Campaign and to Building Your Small Business?

As a marketer, I’m always fascinated by the presidential elections. Because I believe winning an election largely comes down to who has the most effective marketing.

In my book, one of the main reasons Democrats haven’t done as well in the past few elections is that their marketing has been way too vague. By the time candidates make it through the primaries; they’ve had any spark of uniqueness beaten out of their message in an effort to appeal to the widest number of voters

They strive so hard to not offend anyone, they won’t commit to what they really stand for because then someone might not like them. Speeches turn into lists of vague platitudes and meaningless corporatespeak. Then the candidates seem fake, and no longer relatable.

In the end, voters have no good reason to choose one over another. So a lot of people just don’t bother to make a choice at all.

Republicans, on the other hand, are never afraid to scream their views at the top of their lungs—no matter how many people they alienate or offend. Because they know that although they may anger some, those in their core constituency will only like them more. Plus they get a ton more free press by taking a stand—especially a controversial one.

The same holds true with marketing your small business. If all your marketing looks and sounds like your competition no one is going to notice you—let alone like or remember you.

You have to find a way to stand out from the crowd, even if it means you won’t appeal to some people. So don’t be afraid to be quirky. Or funny. Or stand your ground. Or do something different. Because if you don’t people won’t have any reason to choose you over the competition either.

What do you think about my theory on marketing in the presidential campaign?

What are you doing to stand out from the competition in your business?